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Brittany Murphy, Toshiyuki Nishida, Tammy Blanchard, Sohee Park, Kimiko Yo ... see more see more... , Renji Ishibashi , Tsutomu Yamazaki , Gabriel Mann , Daniel Evans

Abandoned by her boyfriend after following him to Tokyo, an American slacker adrift in a foreign culture witnesses the healing power of food and determines to become a ramen chef. When Abby (Brittany ... read more read more...Murphy) arrived in Tokyo, she assumed she was starting a new life with her boyfriend. But that future fades when Abby's boyfriend disappears, leaving her to fend for herself in a city she doesn't understand. In desperate need of a little consolation, the floundering American begins frequenting her neighborhood ramen shop. She feels comfortable there, and recognizes how happy food can make people by the radiant smiles on the customer's faces. Convinced that her true calling is to become a ramen chef, Abby eventually persuades the restaurant's temperamental, tyrannical Japanese chef to become her mentor in the art of making ramen. Though at first their relationship is almost unbearably contentious, the master and his student eventually find a common ground when Abby realizes that the secret ingredient to true ramen is a universe of feeling. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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49% liked it

4,378 ratings

PG-13, 1 hr. 42 min.

Directed by: Robert Allan Ackerman

Release Date: October 23, 2008

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DVD Release Date: May 26, 2009

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Stats: 442 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (442)

  • theylovealexis
    November 9, 2010
    theylovealexis
    First of all I'd like to say I never cared much for Brittany Murphy after she lost all her weight and put it in her lips. But it was sad watching this movie knowing that she's dead.
    Anyway, this movie was really cute and a romantic fish out of water story. Noodles bring people t... read moreogether.
  • matertenebraum
    December 27, 2009
    matertenebraum
    I think a large part of the negative reaction comes from expectations about what the film is or should be.

    First of all, this is not a remake of Tampopo, nor is it about food. It actually borrows more from "Like Water for Chocolate" than Tampopo, but the food subplot is an after... read morethought and a bit of a distraction.

    It isn't really a rom-com though there is a romantic interest in there. Nor is it really a East meets West type of thing either though that certainly is an element.

    It is a story about a young girl, who like many young people have wandered aimlessly expecting that life will just happen for them. The Japanese expectation that a big company will take care of them for life is not that much different from the American expectations. Our ramen girl discovers that such a lack of passion and spirit, even when the ingredients are there and all the right steps are followed will lead to a bland soup. A simple metaphor but done fairly well.

    Brittany Murphy is surprisingly good as the ramen girl and her interactions with the gruff ramen-nazi (wonderfully played by Toshiyuki Nishida) are hilarious. The development of the relationship between the two of them was very well done.

    I quite enjoyed this film and recommend it as a light pleasant diversion that brings a smile to your face - like a good bowl of ramen should...
  • romy861
    August 9, 2009
    romy861
    Nice film. A little slow and may not appeal to all, but nice little story about finding yourself. Brittany Murphy is a little over the top, but so likeable you can over look it.
  • deano
    May 25, 2009
    deano
    Brittany Murphy makes her best performance in this delicious, whimsical tale about life, love and the perfect bowl of noodles. This American-Japanese story is quite familiar as Lost in Translation meets Chocolat.
  • crazydannielle16
    June 14, 2011
    crazydannielle16
    A very sweet comedy that has a good message about finding out who you are and having a passion for life.
  • Fascade518
    June 5, 2010
    Fascade518
    The light hearted comedy was huge in the department of warm and wonderful. The late Brittany Murphy really shined in her performance of a young woman left stranded and out of bounds in the relationship department. In order to get her life back in order she decides to leave her d... read moreead end job and become a Ramen Chef. Her "sensei" tutor under the roughest conditions possible to discourage her. Despite all odds, she holds onto her sanity from the lost loves in her life and perseveres...or does she? See this film if you need a quick pick me up from a torn apart love shreaded heart...
  • ileo
    August 28, 2010
    ileo
    Intriguing movie! Abby is a young woman, out of college, and staying with her boyfriend in Japan. Wanting to avoid a long distance relationship, Abby is now experiencing the cultural and language difference of a new country. As she settles in, her boyfriend decides to end thei... read morer relationship and she is left all alone. Wanting to give up and go back to America, she sees a local eatery and decides to avoid the loneliness of her apartment. There, she meets a raman chef and his wife and the two become her closest supporters. She relents, and decides to stay longer and enjoy her experiences in Japan.
    Great cast- Brittany Murphy, Sohee Park, Toshiyuki Nishida, Kimiko Yo, Tammy Blanchard, Renji Ishibashi, and Gabriel Mann. Worthy!
  • fb25827189
    November 2, 2009
    fb25827189
    Surprisingly good, a really heart-felt story with great characters that you can feel for and get behind throughout the film.
  • zachariahcoffman
    May 24, 2012
    zachariahcoffman
    I am kind of surprised to see positive reviews of this movie. It was horrible. Brittany Murphy's character never developed in a way that allowed me to be interested in what was going on in her life. Oh no, she moved for her boyfriend to the other side of the world and he left her... read more. So what? The only thing that is interesting about that plot point is that people do things like that a lot. Any way, the lack of fully understanding between the characters because of language barriers is irritating. The ending is random and honestly, her making Ramen was not important. I like Murphy, but this was a boring movie that took 5 or more sessions to finally finish, because it was that bad. There is no need to waste your time watching this movie, so don't.
  • dukeakasmudge
    January 18, 2012
    dukeakasmudge
    The Ramen Girl started out alright but then eventually got on my nerves.The storyline was interesting.How f*&#ed up is it to travel to Japan or another country to be dumped by your boyfriend/girlfriend & stranded in the middle of nowhere? It had it's good & bad moments but after ... read moreawhile all the crying gets annoying.This is either a movie you're going to like or hate & I didn't like it but I didn't hate it either.It was OK

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Critic Reviews

Don Willmott
July 10, 2009
Don Willmott, Filmcritic.com

may make you hungry, but it won't warm your heart. Full Review

David Cornelius
June 19, 2009
David Cornelius, DVDTalk.com

It's lovely and sweet and just gosh darn huggable, and if the plot trips up along the way, we're easy to forgive. Full Review

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